Coach Mike Dunlap has been fired by the Bobcats after one season on the job, as first reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.

Mike Dunlap has been fired as Bobcats coach.

Dunlap, who led the Bobcats get to a 7-5 start before ending with a 21-61 record, had his share of flare-ups with veterans on the team (most notably Ben Gordon) during the season. The Bobcats have had just one winning season (2009-10) in their franchise history and have won 35 games or more only twice in their 10 years of existance.

Dunlap was the fifth coach in the Bobcats’ nine-year history. He came from the college ranks, where he had served as an assistant for St. John’s before taking the Charlotte gig.

“Rich Cho and I conducted our season-ending review and met with Coach Dunlap to reflect on this season. As an organization, it was decided that we needed to make a change with the head coach position,” Higgins said. “We want to thank Mike for his contribution and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

November 1, 2012 · 3:29PM

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Bobcats owner Michael Jordandid an interview Thursday with Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that covered a wide range of topics. From the possibility the franchise could make a name change should New Orleans give up the Hornets to comparing the versatility and attitude of rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with Scottie Pippen as a “connector” for the lineup.

Oh, and that players have already gone to Jordan to complain about the lengthy practices of new coach Mike Dunlap.

Maybe it’s an ominous beginning for Dunlap as a first-time NBA head coach with more experience dealing with players in the college game. Maybe it is more a very bad sign about the players trying to respond to a 7-59 season and not even being able to make it to opening night before griping about being overworked. Either way, it looks bad in so many ways for the Bobcats.

Dunlap was a surprise hire in June only because the announcement came without his name ever being linked to the job. The perception game turned it into a risk hire by Jordan, but in reality, Dunlap was a well-respected basketball man with a long history on the bench. The Warriors’ move for Mark Jackson the season before, among others, was a much bigger gamble, only better disguised by name recognition. (more…)

September 4, 2012 · 1:01PM

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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Hall of Fame week always reminds us of a seemingly endless debate we have here at the hideout about the worthiness of some of the game’s current stars and whether or not they’ll one day end up in Springfield.

One of those stars we talk about often is Tracy McGrady, who at one point earlier in his career seemed like he would be a lock for the hallowed halls of the Naismith Memorial. That view isn’t quite as clear these days. The journeyman nature of his career the past few years has made the argument for McGrady a bit tougher.

Iverson, who has already played in Turkey, has perhaps the best perspective and understanding of how dramatically things can change from highest of highs for some NBA superstars to the long road back to the league once you’ve lost your way. He’s desperate for another shot and is willing to go the other side of the world to play if he can’t find a place here, as this Netease Sports report (translated) makes clear:

“I definitely want to return to the NBA, but if I can’t get back there, I’m hoping to play ball here (in China). China is still one of my choices, but the team that wants me to join has got to show me that they really mean it, like ‘Hey, we really need you.'”

Makes you wonder if there is any NBA team out there willing to say the same about either McGrady or Iverson?

June 25, 2012 · 8:12AM

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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – In the seemingly endless search for an edge in the Draft process, teams are willing to go to great lengths to find theirs.

The Charlotte Bobcats, whose draft missteps of the recent past have been well documented (Sean May, Adam Morrison, etc.), have come up with a remedy for what has ailed them over the years. And they’ve found it in an original system designed by general manager Rich Cho, whose cutting-edge system has helped Michael Jordan‘s Bobcats completely rework their scouting process.

The first real chance the Bobcats will have to test it out comes Thursday night, when they’ll use it to assist them when they have the No. 2 pick (and No. 31, the first pick in the second round). Cho’s system involves a radically different approach to what the league is used to, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer details:

Cho’s system has all the basics you’d expect: Player contracts, statistics that can be used to compare Bobcats players’ development to others’, any potential bonuses that could complicate trade discussions. But beyond that, this is a function of Cho’s self-description as “a big information hound.”

Call it nosey if you like. To Cho, it’s being forewarned. You can see both the engineer and the lawyer in Cho’s concept.